Rethinking the Tunisian miracle: a party politics view

Five years on from the Tunisian revolution, Tunisia stands as the sole success story of the Arab Spring. The country since then has managed to adopt a pluralist and democratic constitution, and held three free and fair elections. Accordingly, in the eyes of several observers, Tunisia is now in the process of consolidating its new democracy. However, the reality on the ground seems much gloomier, as most recent opinion surveys suggest that there is a significant degree of dissatisfaction, not only with political parties and Parliament but also with the very institution of democracy. Nevertheless, what accounts for this change? After the collapse of the long-lasting and oppressive Ben Ali regime, how, just in five years, has Tunisians’ confidence in the democratic process changed? This article accounts for this state of affairs from a party politics view, arguing that political parties, which are the main protagonists of the consolidation process, fail to fulfill their role of acquiring legitimacy for the new regime. While party–state relations seem to be stabilized due to the inclusiveness of the constitution-making process, both inter-party relationships and the relationship between parties and society suffer from numerous flaws which, in turn, hamper the democratic consolidation process.     

Does fair trade make a difference? The case of small coffee producers in Nicaragua

Fair trade represents an innovative approach to make the rules of global trade work for disadvantaged producers in the South and for sustainable development. But who are the real beneficiaries of fair trade? Has fair trade resulted in any discernible improvements in the lives of small coffee producers and their communities? This paper examines the effectiveness of fair trade as a development tool and the extent of its contribution to the alleviation of poverty in coffee-producing regions of Nicaragua. The paper argues that it is crucial to analyse the experiences and problems of small coffee producers and producer organisations involved in the fair trade market to ensure that the objectives and claims of fair trade are achieved in practice. The study concludes that there are limits to the extent to which fair trade can significantly raise the standard of living of small coffee producers because of factors such as the debt problems faced by cooperatives, lack of government support, and volatile international coffee prices.     

小热休克蛋白家族的研究进展

196 2年Ritossa等发现果蝇唾液腺多线染色体在环境温度升高时,某些特定部位在1min内就出现“蓬松”现象,当温度恢复到正常时,其他部位才会出现类似的蓬松。用3H尿嘧啶核苷掺入试验这些蓬松部位的基因具有转录活性。1974年Tissieres发现热诱导基因蓬松的活化产物是一组热休克蛋白(heatshockprotein ,HSP)。这一现象被称为热休克应答(heatshockresponse )。进一步的研究发现它普遍存在于从细菌到高等真核生物的整个生物界,并且可以被氨基酸类似物、生长因子、重金属离子、病毒感染等多种因素诱导,所以又称为“应激反应”。目前,将HSP按分…     

How can small donors contribute to sustainable development in large regions? The case of NZAID in Latin America

Donors face many issues when trying to support development goals in large regions such as Latin America. In their attempts to channel assistance to appropriate end‐users, they also have to provide coherence with national strategy, balance supply and demand of technical resources, and ensure accountability to their taxpayers. Resolution of these issues requires considerable focus and a clear understanding of all relevant factors. This is particularly so for, but not exclusive to, small donors. This paper provides agencies with a model to assess regional involvement and create a decision‐making framework for future investments. It places the quality of aid above the quantity of donation.     

Multinational cooperation: building capabilities in small air forces

European air power is represented by a variety of air forces, each equipped with different capabilities and facing different limitations. Developing the former and making up for the latter requires resources and finances and is not always possible within a national capacity. It may be particularly problematic for smaller air forces, especially with the trend of shrinking defence budgets and increasing costs of the newest technological achievements. This article investigates the idea of multinational cooperation in Europe as a way to make up for these shortfalls and build collective European capabilities. In doing so, it focuses on two states, namely Poland and Sweden as examples of small air forces. By choosing these countries as case studies it also provides an opportunity to investigate the different forms of multinational involvement existing within and outside a major military alliance, namely NATO. The article explores the participation of the Polish and Swedish Air Forces in several multinational initiatives and investigates how such involvement increases (or not) their capabilities.     

小分子半抗原抗体制备技术的研究进展

从半抗原的设计与合成、新型载体和佐剂的使用、基因工程抗体的应用等方面论述了小分子半抗原抗体制备技术的最新研究情况,旨在为制备一些采用常规方法不易获得的小分子半抗原抗体提供新的方法和思路。     

Mediation by small states: Some lessons from the CSCE

Most writing on international mediation has tended to focus on either efforts by representatives of powerful states or of international organisations such as the United Nations. This study suggests we might benefit from looking at the mediatory role of small states in a relatively little studied but crucial forum. The writer draws of his personal experiences and the existing literature to examine the case of a few key states in the Madrid Review Conference of the CSCE. These states are suggested to have been primordial to the success of this conference, against all the odds given the Afghanistan and Polish crises of the early 1980s. The paper also discusses the extant literature on small states and mediation to make a plea for a more empirical approach to this area of conflict resolution.     

Gender-awareness and policies: theory and practice among small NGDOs

While in recent years, many nongovernmental development organizations (NGDOs) have committed themselves to addressing gender inequality in their development work, little is known about the gender-related practices of small NGDOs with annual budgets of less than 1 million pounds. It is known, however, that larger NGDOs tend to have developed more gender-aware policies and practices than smaller ones. Findings are reported from an exploration of the gender-related awareness and practices of 13 small NGDOs, 8 based in the UK and 5 based in Cameroon. The study found that at the organizational level, all studied organizations were aware of the concept of gender and acknowledged its importance, but had a wide range of ideas of what gender actually means. Most organizations had not devised any specific way of incorporating gender into their programs because they had neither a specific person nor unit responsible for gender issues. Male NGDO employees were not really involved in gender issues. Policy- and project-level findings are presented, followed by consideration of the problems encountered by small NGDOs, the advantages of such organizations, how to ensure gender-aware practices, gender and development versus women in development approaches, and recommendations for good practice.     

Studying small states in international security affairs: a quantitative analysis

Todays’ international security architecture composed of international security treaties and international security norms has been established and formalized by negotiations. Owing to the great importance of international security negotiations for international security practices, this paper sheds light on negotiation activities. A study of 100 different international security negotiations shows that states vary considerably with respect to their negotiation activity. Some countries voice positions very often, while others remain completely silent. This is puzzling, as active negotiation participation is an expression of state sovereignty and a means to influence the shape of the international security architecture. The article distinguishes between capacity and incentives as driving forces of state activity in international security negotiations. The analysis reveals that, next to political and financial capacities, states that place high priority on military matters are more active, while smaller and poorer states are more likely to shelter under the security umbrella of larger counterparts.     

Balancing act: Business and household in a small Bolivian city

Sucre is a city of micro enterprises. The lines between business and household are often blurred: accounts are mixed, space is shared, and partners from outside the household are rare. On the surface, this kind of business organisation seems most inadequate for economic success. Yet a closer look at the internal workings of Sucre's businesses suggests that the complex 'balancing act' between business and household may represent not sloppy management (as micro-enterprise development agencies often maintain), but a flexible strategy for household well-being. Sucre's businesses essentially follow 'triple bottom line' accounting at the household level, taking into account both financial and non-financial goals.     

蜂花粉对肉鸡小肠发育的影响

将144只1日龄AA肉鸡随机分为2组,每组72只,日粮中分别添加0(对照组)和15g/kg(试验组)的蜂花粉,每周每组随机抽取试验鸡6只,剖取十二指肠、空肠、回肠,测量肠管长度及肠绒毛、肠腺长度,并制作石蜡切片,进行组织学观察,研究了日粮中添加蜂花粉对肉鸡小肠发育的影响。结果显示,试验组1～3周龄鸡的小肠绒毛和肠腺的长度显著或极显著高于对照组,肠道淋巴组织较发达,证实蜂花粉能够促进肉鸡小肠的早期发育,增强组织免疫功能。     

Banking on the poor: Peru's small and micro enterprise sector

Sixty per cent of Peru's urban workforce is employed within the small and micro enterprises (SMEs) which account for 95 per cent ofall business in the country's manufacturing, commercial, and service sectors. But in spite of credit needs of some US$ 1,250 million, in 1994 the combined input from the formal financial sector, international development agencies, and NGOs met only five per cent of this demand. The author examines the six principal mechanisms through which credit is available to SMEs, and describes the work of a Peruvian NGO network- IDESI- which specialises in providing credit and related services to small businesses, and in making strategic linkages between the popular sector and the conventional banking system.     

小尾寒羊妊娠毒血症的诊治

羊妊娠毒血症是孕畜特有的疾病 ,多发生在妊娠中后期 ,又有妊娠中毒症、妊娠反应病和临产拒食症之称。该病主要表现为精神沉郁、临产前食欲减退或废绝。1997年沈阳市于洪区于洪乡某机场饲养的小尾寒羊发生以母羊临产前出现不爱吃草 ,喝水少 ,排便干稀交替 ,严重者停食 ,心音亢进 ,运动失调 ,站立不稳 ,最后昏迷而死亡为特征的疾病。经临床症状观察、剖检变化和实验室诊断 ,确诊为羊妊娠毒血症。1　致病因素引起妊娠毒血症的因素 ,一是饲养管理不当 ,饲料单一 ,营养成分不全 ,缺乏运动致使妊娠羊营养失调 ,物质代谢过程减弱 ,适应能力降低 ;…     

猪瘟病毒感染的小型猪体内病毒的复制情况及淋巴细胞变化

用106 TCID50CSFV石门株感染巴马小型猪,通过监测被感染猪的临床体温、观察其病理变化、检测猪瘟病毒在体内的复制情况、检查猪瘟病毒感染后对外周血淋巴细胞增殖的影响,并分析外周血CD3+、CD4+、CD8+T淋巴细胞的动态变化,以确定巴马小型猪对CSFV的敏感性。结果,攻毒后第3天被感染的巴马小型猪出现病毒血症,并在第7天就已达到1×106 copies/μL以上;腹股沟淋巴结中病毒含量最高,颌下淋巴结次之。淋巴细胞增殖试验表明,用固定剂量的刀豆素刺激,被感染的巴马小型猪外周血淋巴细胞增殖出现不同程度降低;其外周血中CD3+、CD4+、CD8+T淋巴细胞的比例降低。结果表明,巴马小型猪可以作为CSFV的感染模型。     

Dwarfs in international negotiations: how small states make their voices heard

Students of international relations interested in cooperation through international regimes and organizations very often devote their attention to the role of a few big states rather than the numerous small ones. Small states tend to possess fewer administrative and financial resources back home as well as smaller and less well-equipped delegations at the international negotiation table than big states. This can easily translate into difficulties in preparing positions for all items on the negotiation agenda and in developing negotiation strategies in great detail, which might inhibit small states from successfully influencing negotiation outcomes. Yet, since international negotiation often rest on a one-state, one-vote principle and since small states can adjust priorities and redirect their limited capacities, there is a window of opportunity for small states to turn into important international actors and achieve significant outcomes in international affairs. In order to systematically shed light on the role of small states in international negotiations, this article outlines the conceptual framework to answer the following question: How, and under which conditions, can small states successfully punch above their weight in international negotiations?     

Developing small production and marketing enterprises: mushroom contract farming in Bangladesh

This article presents a case study of an activity implemented under the FAO component of the Local Partnerships for Urban Poverty Alleviation Project, funded by UNDP in Bangladesh. In Mymensingh city the project is linking poor urban dwellers with a niche market for oyster mushroom. This small enterprise activity appears to be sustainable, in that it develops agricultural production to cater for the specific demand of an existing small marketing enterprise. As long as the trader finds a market for his mushroom, he has an incentive to collaborate with the project beneficiaries who supply the produce. This model is thus an example of mutual benefit between extremely small landholders and a trader through the catalytic effect of a development project.     

Factors influencing working conditions of small enterprises in Sylhet City,Bangladesh

This article looks at variables that affect the working lives of small business entrepreneurs in Sylhet City, Bangladesh, and whether microfinance ensures decent working conditions in small ventures. The findings show that social dialogue among borrowers and their enterprise stability have the largest impacts on work and non-work life, and that social discussions among borrowers have the most significance in achieving harmony between work and non-work life. The results suggest that loan organisations need to draw in their borrowers more by using social relations in empowering decent working conditions.     

论中亚地区小武器和轻武器的扩散现状及其来源

在近20年的发展历程中,中亚地区基本保持了相对和平与稳定,但是地区各国本身所固有的多种不利因素,如边界纠纷、民族矛盾、毒品走私、宗教偏执、恐怖主义以及与动荡的阿富汗毗邻等,一直刺激着该地区小武器和轻武器的扩散及滥用。总体来说,中亚地区的小武器和轻武器持有状况比较复杂,持有主体呈多元化发展态势,小武器和轻武器的来源也极为复杂,其中苏联解体、塔吉克斯坦内战、伊斯兰极端主义、恐怖主义、毒品贸易、阿富汗战争、反政府暴力骚乱和民族冲突等在加剧该地区局势动荡的同时,也使大量小武器和轻武器流向了社会。作为中国的近邻,中亚地区小武器和轻武器的扩散将直接关系到中国西部的安全与稳定,因此深入研究中亚各国小武器和轻武器的扩散状况及其来源问题具有非常重要的现实意义。     

Acting small in a large state's world: Russia and the Baltic states

The interest in small states ebbs and flows as important international affairs include small states. Russia's actions and policies vis-à-vis Ukraine, and the resultant intensified apprehension among Russia's smaller neighbours, aim the proverbial microscope at the size and power discrepancies between states. Russia, by most metrics, is a large state and the Baltic states, by those same metrics, are small states. Small-state scholars expect large and small states to act differently. However, the case of Russia and the Baltic states indicates that large and small states do not, in fact, act all that different. This being the case, this article calls into question many of the assumptions made by small-state scholars about the difference between large- and small-state action and argues for changes within small-state studies as a subdiscipline of the larger international relations discipline.